


Little By Little

by blackcoffeeandteardrops



Category: The X-Files
Genre: AU, F/M, Fluff, i guess, revival era, though hopefully close to reality
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-26
Updated: 2017-12-26
Packaged: 2019-02-20 17:16:06
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,727
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13151289
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/blackcoffeeandteardrops/pseuds/blackcoffeeandteardrops
Summary: Chirstmas 2016, aka William's first Christmas back in the Mulder/Scully household. He and his parents take a trip to a local ice rink, and outright fluff ensues.





	Little By Little

“Remind me again why I thought this would be a good idea,” Scully said, staring across the thick expanse of ice at others who made the act look effortless. She placed one bladed boot on and then the other, wobbling for a moment before reaching for Mulder’s arm to stay balanced. “We’re going to fall, Mulder. You know that.”

“Maybe,” he replied, making sure she was at least partially steady before skating a few feet away. “Give it a try, Scully. See what happens, ” he said, reaching out for her with gloved hands. 

William, who’d gotten a head start by lacing his skates faster, had already made one complete circle around the rink, and skidded to a stop beside his father. He pulled off the beanie he wore and ruffled his hair before placing the wool hat more snuggly around his ears. “You just can’t think about falling, that’s all. If you keep thinking about the fact you have to balance, you’ll never be able to do it.”

“You have experience ice skating like this?” Scully asked, arching a brow as she carefully made her way to their side. The information about what his life had been like prior to joining them had been doled out in pieces, little nuggets to tuck away and dissect later, but she treasured them all the same. 

“We had a rink back in Wyoming,” William replied, as a means of explanation. “It was inside though, so not quite as cold as it is here,” he added, his breath coming out in white wisps before fading away in the evening air.

“Thank you,” she said, grasping his hand as she reached them, roughly near the middle of the ice. She huddled closer as another skater quickly sped by, watching as they clearly weren’t paying attention and narrowly avoided crashing into someone else. She blinked, shaking her head as she brought her attention back to her son. “Are you cold? We can go if you’re--”

William laughed, knowing her concern was heartfelt, and stopped her from unwrapping the scarf she’d carefully tucked around her neck. “It’s fine. Besides, there’s heat in the car, right? We can warm up on the way home.”

Though not the first time he’d referred to their house as home, the word used in such a way by her son warmed her heart more than likely anything else could. “You’re right.”

“Well, come on then. Are you scared?” William asked, suddenly turning and skating backwards away from them. He waggled his fingers in the air, adjusting his gloves as he waved her closer. “Come on, I’ll show you.”

Scully moved forward slowly, but stopped when she realized Mulder wasn’t following as closely as she thought. “Aren’t you coming?”   
Mulder nodded, pressing his hand to the small of her back. “I am, but it’s okay. You guys go ahead. I’ll catch up,” he said. He leaned down just slightly, rubbing at one of his knees. The cold didn’t get to him much, but it still had an effect. 

Despite the added inch or two the skates gave her, as Scully caught up to William and he laid a hand on her shoulder, it occurred to her again of how much taller than her he was. “Are you having a good time? If you want to go faster, you don’t have to wait for me or Mulder, you know. Just be careful,” she said, though she secretly hoped he wouldn’t. She didn’t want to think of how fast she’d have to go should she have to get to his side quickly if something happened. 

William appeared to consider it for a second as they moved around the curve. He turned his head and saw Mulder skating a few feet back. “You guys always do that last name thing?”

“It’s been that way since the beginning. I know it’s weird, but--”

“No, I think it’s cool. Different, but not weird. Weird is when, well…” William stopped, wiping at his nose with the back of his sleeve.

“What is it?” Scully asked, wondering what possibly could’ve happened to turn the mood so serious. 

“In Wyoming, there was this older couple at the church we’d go to. The kids moved years ago, but they called each other Mother and Father. Now that was weird,” he muttered. He pointed at an area more open on the ice. As the evening drew on, more people were vacating the rink, opting to head to the food area nearby or simply go home. “Race you there.”

“What? No way, not when you know I’ll lose,” she replied, though as she saw the light of excitement in his eyes, so much like his father’s, she knew there was no way to deny him. “Okay, fine. But I get a headstart,” she said, wobbling for the briefest of seconds before pushing off and ahead of him. By the time William caught up with her, she’d lapped back around and might’ve crashed into Mulder had it not been for him holding his arm out and bracing for impact. She smiled as he brushed the hair from her face, and she felt flushed from how fast they’d gone. “I can’t speak for you two, but I could stand some hot cocoa to warm up. Winner buys?”

“It doesn’t count as winning since you got a head start,” William muttered, only half kidding, as they made their way off the ice. 

Scully made quick work of removing her skates, watching as other people slowly emptied off the ice. A woman stood near the edge, beckoning a boy who couldn’t have been older than maybe five closer. He had his arms extended, nearly slipping a few times as he fought to maintain his balance, before finally clutching his mother tight. The woman hugged him, proudly telling him that he’d done it, and Scully couldn’t help but think that had circumstances been different, she and Mulder might’ve also had the chance to teach their son not just how to skate, but so many other things. 

Mulder followed her gaze to the boy and his mother before looking back at William who was turning their skates in at the booth. “Everything okay, Scully?” he asked, reaching for her hand. 

“Everything’s fine,” she replied, pretending the tears misting her vision were simply her eyes watering due to the cold. She laced their fingers together and shrugged. “We have our son, Mulder. And it’s Christmas. A year ago, I’d have told you this was impossible.”

“It’s not impossible. Quite possible, in fact,” he said, giving her hand a squeeze as William joined them again. “Now, I believe you said you were buying us hot chocolate?”

They joined the line at the food booth and Scully fished out a few dollars from her pocket to buy them their drinks. She took a few sips as they started making their way back down the path to the parking lot, pausing as she caught the look in William’s eyes at seeing a large Christmas tree brightly decorated at the beginning of the path. A memory flickered, foggy but still persistent despite the intervening years, of him as a baby, all wide eyed at the lights on their tree. He seemed fascinated by them even then. “It’s interesting, isn’t it?” she asked him, pointing to the tree. 

“Yeah,” he agreed, an idea suddenly occurring to him. He pulled his phone from his pocket and called out to an older couple walking by. “Can you take a picture for me?”

“Will, if you wanted a picture with the tree, you could’ve asked one of us,” Mulder offered, not intending to offend the couple, but not necessarily wanting to let them into the bubble he’d felt envelope their small huddle.

“Maybe,” William replied, backing up towards the tree. “But that would be kind of difficult with both of you in it.”

“You want to take a picture with us?” Scully asked, hoping the surprise in her voice wasn’t entirely evident. He’d been through so much in the past year--they all had, really--and to see him give into a moment of holiday excitement was almost refreshing. She’d been afraid that he’d be more somber, and she knew she couldn’t blame him for that, but seeing him happy filled her heart in a way nothing else could. 

“Sure, I do. It’s Christmas,” he replied, as if that were all the explanation he needed. 

Christmas had never been entirely easy on any of them; from her father’s passing, to Emily, to getting trapped with ghosts in an old house, not to mention the years they’d spent apart. Scully nestled between her two boys, knowing this one didn’t necessarily make up for the ones they’d missed, but feeling like it was progress. 

“Go on, son,” the man said, carefully holding William’s phone as he gestured towards Scully. “Get in closer to your mom there, so I can get all three of you in with the tree.”

If either William or Mulder noted the way her breath hitched at the stranger’s words, neither acted like it, though she knew Mulder was sure to have caught it. “Thank you, sir. You two have a Merry Christmas.”

The man nodded, turning the phone so they could check the photo. “Same to you. Merry Christmas. I gotta say, my boys got his age? They didn’t want so much as a picture with their parents. Good kid.”

He handed the phone back to William and Scully listened as he told the older gentleman thank you. She was reminded of how, to random passersby, they might look like any ordinary family stopping to capture a quick holiday picture. And they were, she supposed, although “ordinary” didn’t fit them by any definition of the term. She felt Mulder’s gaze on her before she even glanced up at him, standing there in support, as steady as ever. They’d suffered their rough patches, that much was true, but by some miracle they’d come through the other side fully intact, and with their son by their side. “Yes,” she said, flickering her gaze to William, whose attention was drawn to the dusting of snowflakes starting to fall. He hadn’t done it yet, but within seconds, she was certain he’d dart his tongue out to try and catch some before they hit the ground. “He sure is.”


End file.
